The Chosen One

Pt. 1- Escape

A flash of blue ice danced in the moonlight, as a young girl with long black hair ran down the streets of Junon. It was pouring, and the girl’s frightened blue eyes, were clouded with fear and despair. They were coming. They would catch her, and they would kill her. No, she couldn’t let them! She couldn’t die yet! She had to get there… She couldn’t let those… Turks stop her. The girl, her face clothes dripping wet, ran up the fire escape and saw it was a dead end. Below her was a vehicle. Two figures in dark suits got out. They had come. The girl looked for a way out. The only thing there was a window. Balling up a fist, she drove it into the windowpane. It shattered, and cut her face, but she had to keep moving. She threw herself into the empty interior of the abandoned apartment building, and she ran across the ratty wooden floors. Panting she threw open a door, which, to her dismay, led to a small walk in closet. Outside of her haven she could hear voices. She made sure she locked the door, and she cowered in the dark corner of the closet. No lights… No sound… It would be all right.

"Where the $^%* did that little bitch go?" a voice said.

"I don’t know…" another one replied.

"Come on Rude, search the place."

She heard them walking around the old wooden floorboards. Doors opening and shutting. She waited for what seemed like hours, until the footsteps seemed to subside. She had almost brought herself to crawl from the closet, and try to escape when she heard footsteps at the door.

"What’s this?" one of the men said.

"I think… A closet." The other replied.

"Open it." The first said.

The knob jiggled. The girl’s heart froze.

"It’s locked." The other man said.

The first man cursed loudly. "&^%# it man. Just %&*^ it. I don’t care. Let’s get outta here."

The girl breathed a heavy sigh of relief as the footsteps receded into the background. She waited a few more minutes and then, confident that the men had gone, she slowly crept to the door, and opened it. Warily she looked at the room before her…

Empty.

She took a deep breath and found the door to the stairwell, slowly she made her way downstairs, back into the wet and dark allies. Somehow she navigated herself to a small dirty Inn. She walked in, soaked to the bone, and up to the counter. She looked up at the proprietor.

"That’ll be 100 gil." The man said, taking no pity on the girl.

She dug in her pockets and withdrew a small pouch. She opened it and frowned as she looked inside. Finally, she emptied it onto the counter. The old, scruffy man looked at the money. He must’ve been blessed with some sort of mathematical gift, because in a second he said:

"Ten gil short."

The girl sighed, and her face fell. "Please, mister, please, I’ll do anything for the room. Just one night." She pleaded.

"Anything?" the man’s face lit.

The girl looked at him with shock and disgust. This man had got to be kidding.

"What’s your name, girl?" the dirty man asked.

"Karis." The girl whispered.

"How old are you?"

"18."

"Oh." The man looked deep in thought. "Forget it. Just go down to the room at the end of the hall. It’s empty. Yours for ONE NIGHT ONLY."

Karis smiled at the man, and walked down to the small, dirty room. She walked inside, locked the door, and looked around. There was one small window. Nothing to worry about. She took off her long black, soaked coat, revealing shiny silver armor. It seemed to weigh her down. She removed it and slowly placed it on the rickety bed. Underneath the armor was a short sleeved black top of sorts, and a pair of shorts. She pulled her black boots off of her tired, cold feet, She was chilled to the bone, and all she could so was cover herself with the threadbare blankets. She closed her eyes, tried to block out the night. And tried to block out the past, and tried to… Sleep.

Somewhere… Karis awoke. This place was cold… Colder than the small Inn room. She was scared. Were they here? No, this was something more sinister… Or was it? She looked around, but the darkness was oppressive. She swallowed, and continued to lay in the darkness. Afraid of what lurked nearby. She then heard a noise, and she snapped her head to the side to look in that direction. What was the use? She couldn’t see anything in these conditions. Her heart beat fast, and a funny taste rose up in the back of her throat. She was very scared. And then… A voice.

"Karis… You know what you are, don’t you?" An evil voice spoke from the darkness.

Karis trembled at the voice. She wanted to get away from it. But now, as she tried her hardest to get up, she was frozen to the spot she lay in. A drop of sweat ran down her cheek.

"Please… Leave me alone! Please!" she pleaded with the darkness.

The voice laughed, long and loud. "You can’t change your future! You’re destined… You cannot deny yourself for much longer.

"No! I won’t…" Karis began to feel her eyes sting. "No… No!" she closed her eyes against the presence and the voice. She wanted to scream and kick. She opened her mouth, and all she could manage was a piercing scream.

"Hey!!! Are you all right in there???!!" a voice screamed. The sound of knocking and then pounding at a door crashed into Karis’ skull.

Karis’ eyes snapped open, she stared at the ceiling. Where? Where was she now? Cold rushed her. Oh, she was at the Inn... Junon. He throat was sore, and her eyes were raw and tight. She realized she must have been screaming. Her cheeks burned and then she quickly got up and went to the door. She took a deep breath, and called through the door.

"I’m fine!" she said, her voice hoarse.

"Are you sure?" The man’s voice on the other side was more than a little unconvinced.

"Yes… Yes, I’ll be just fine!"

She heard him stalk away, muttering things about people today and their weirdo obsessions. Karis put her back to the door and slid down to the floor, tired despite the sleep she had just gotten. Then she grimaced. You couldn’t exactly call that sleep. It was more like… A vision. The third one in as many days. Karis looked around the dirty room, wanted to sleep, but not allowing herself to, for fear of the images and visions that lay right behind the door between consciousness and the world of dreams. What did it all mean? She was very frightened… She got up and paced the room. On the wall was a small clock. It read 3:00. She knew she couldn’t leave until at least 7:00. Her goal was to get on a boat for Costa del Sol and hit the western continent. Then find a way through to Rocket Town. From there she would try to reach Bone Village, an excavation site. Karis’ main goal though, was far away. She had to reach a City. A city she felt and heard in her mind. It called to her, as if it could speak. She knew she had to get there.

Finally, tired out by the pacing she sat back down on the creaking bed and pulled the blanket around her for a little warmth. Junon in winter, especially after a rainstorm like this was horribly cold. She focused on something else. She thought about the past… At least that was warmer…

Karis had grown up in Midgar. In the slums, yes, but she didn’t care. Her parents had loved her, and she was a smart child. She saw the beauty in small things. She was a normal girl until… She frowned. Was it her tenth birthday? Yes, that was it. Karis had been opening her presents and was just about to open the box of the doll that she had wanted for at least forever. And when she had reached the box, she promptly fell down. She had a vision of sorts. A jumble of images, and sound, and everything flashed through her small head, she nearly went insane. Her mother and father were very frightened. They took her to the doctor, who could not diagnose the problem at all. It made no sense according to him, There was nothing wrong with her.

In the course of five years the visions became more frequent. Once, when Karis was on a train from another sector, she had been attacked by a vision, and collapsed. Her parents then went to the doctors again, and tried to write them off as some sort of chemical imbalance, but now Karis, through the visions had learned of something much more… Unnatural. She was a chosen one. Whatever that meant. The visions and the thoughts that assaulted her painted a picture, that became more and more complete as the days wore on. Finally, on the eve of her sixteenth birthday, her mother and father sat her down in their small kitchen… This was the end of all normalcy for Karis. They told her that fifteen years prior to that night, they had found her, in Wall Market, at the bottom of the tower that led up the plate, near ShinRa headquarters. They were scared for the small baby, obviously abandoned, and had taken her in as a child of their own. But, now, they realized that something was seriously wrong with Karis, and they were scared for her. They were just too helpless. There was no way they could help her.

Karis took the news well. She had the idea that she was not the child of the poor, somewhat ignorant slum couple. She still loved them though, and stayed with them. But, the visions continued, and sometimes they would cause Karis to have violent outbreaks. During one such outbreak she destroyed half of her "parent’s" house. This is when they asked her to leave. She had to. She didn’t want to hurt them anymore. About a month and a half later, Karis found herself in Kalm, she taught herself to fight, and although the visions were as forceful and as maddening as ever, she survived somehow. Then, one day, right after her seventeenth birthday, she saw a man she knew from her childhood in Midgar. He finally told her that her mother and father had been killed in a horrible train accident. Karis was numb and shocked for quite some time, and fell ill. But, she recovered, and wanting to get far away from Midgar and cities and people in general, she worked at a chocobo farm. A smile touched her lips when she thought of it, but at least there she had felt somewhat at peace with herself.

Soon afterward, Karis heard rumors of the meteor. A person named Sephiroth, Ancients, and the Cetra. The meteor did in fact come, and at this point she saw more in her visions than ever… A girl dying, a man with silvery white hair, a long sword, a white materia… More and more of these images haunted her mind. Somehow the meteor was destroyed, and all was semi-right in the world. But for some reason, as she slept in her bed at the chocobo farm, she felt an aching need… She kept seeing some place called Bone Village. She kept seeing a lake… Underground. She could hear screams and cries, and the visions… They told her… about unlocking something. What, she did not know, but she knew she had to go. So, in the middle of the night, she gathered up her savings and left. And she had traveled across the continent to Junon. And here she was…

She had first been chased by people in black at Condor Fort. They had asked around for her, but Karis had a unique sense of sensing danger and had fled. The next time she had seen a man with red hair follow her was a month ago, when she had just reached Junon. Now, every few nights, while Karis searched for a way to get out of Junon, she would be tailed. Just like this night. She couldn’t stand this anymore. That was why she had to escape as soon as possible.

As she outlined her past… Her future seemed more clear, she had to get out of Junon immediately. She looked up, into the window on the wall, and saw the gray light of early morning. She sighed, and got up. Somehow, she pulled on her armor, boots, and coat, which were now somewhat dry. She reached into the coat pocket and pulled out black gloves. She slipped them on, and pushed her hair back. Then she left the room… Ready to begin her journey anew.

Elsewhere in Junon, in a small apartment sat a fiery haired man across from a bald one.

"Hic!" the red haired man laughed drunkenly. "Hey, Rude… Hic! I’m so tired."

Rude, the bald headed man, stared across at the other, he shook his head, and muttered under his breath. "Freakin’ buffoon."

"I heard that." Reno said, waving a beer bottle around.

"What?" Rude asked innocently.

"Shut the *^&# up man!" Reno said. He smashed the beer bottle on the table and he held it’s shattered remnants over Rude’s head.

"You little &*%#!" Rude screamed and was about to draw his gun, when the door flew open.

A blonde woman walked in, scowling. She was tired and dirty looking.

"What the hell are you two idiots doing??" she asked, clearly angry.

Rude and Reno, both ready to maim each other, turned to look at their comrade.

"What the hell happened to you Elena?" Rude asked roughly, and sat back down.

Elena walked up, snatched the bottle from Reno’s hand and threw it into a corner, where it smashed to bits on impact.

"Doing research while you two assholes are drinking the night away." She said, angrily.

She pulled out a slip of paper and slammed it onto the table. "We’re getting out of this hellhole, my friends." She said, grinning.

Rude picked up the paper. "Costa Del Sol Transports?" he read. "What is this crap?"

"Our little friend is going on one of those. That locked door you found? Well, I checked it out. You idiots never checked inside, and she had been in there. She dropped this." She gestured to the paper on the table. "Now, boys, clean yourselves up, we’re hitting the second boat out. 10 o’clock sharp."

Rude nodded, and Reno was nearly asleep. Elena just rolled her eyes and left the room.

At the harbor, the first transport to Costa Del Sol was about to leave. Karis was ready to go. She had dropped off whatever possessions she had at the docks the night before, and she hurried onto the ship, making sure she kept a low profile. From the deck of the ship, she kept an eye out for any of the people in black. As far as she knew there were only three of them: two men, and a woman. She wondered what they wanted from her. She watched the docks until the steam horn blew, signaling the boat’s departure. She smiled, bitterly. At least she knew they weren’t going to follow her… Yet.

She walked off of the deck to the cabin area below, and found a small sitting room for the passengers. Luckily, there weren’t many passengers this early in the morning, and she found a comfortable sofa off in the corner. She lay down on it, and drew herself close. Her eyelids were heavy, and she knew she needed sleep. No one could live without sleep… She soon felt the mists of unconsciousness creep around her and she couldn’t fight them anymore… Her eyes closed and she gave in.

This time… Karis saw a huge crystalline structure… Slowly she moved down it, and she saw a lake. It was totally underground, in the center was a sort of dais or altar. Karis moved towards it slowly, and when she reached the altar, it gleamed so brightly. Images, thoughts, and ideas seeped through her brain. She became aware of everything and nothing all at once. She nearly fainted, but somehow she retained consciousness…

Then, the sensation stopped, as if willed by another, and a voice penetrated the haze Karis floated in. It was feminine and soft.

"Karis… Don’t… Good… Not evil…"

"What? What, I can’t understand…" Karis moaned, fighting for consciousness.

"No…" the voice rose… and then was silenced.

The voice from before now spoke, deep, distorted.

"Karis… Continue. No use fighting a battle you can’t win."

Karis was utterly confused, her eyes were streaming, and the images, sounds, and everything came again. It was too much…

Nothingness ensued.

Karis’ eyes opened again to the face of a sailor.

"Miss, miss, we’re in Costa Del Sol."

Karis’ throat was tight, and all she could was nod. She sat up and looked around, there were two people left in the room and they stared at her like she was crazy. She swallowed, and pushed strands of black hair away from pale cheeks. Then she stood, head down, and walked out of the room.

Karis hurried off of the transport, and retrieved her small bag. She wanted out of Costa Del Sol as soon as possible. She pulled her black coat around her tightly, although the morning sun was hot, and she hurried off to the town square. When she reached the entrance, a tour guide stopped her. He was wearing sunglasses, and a garishly bright tropical print shirt.

"Hey, miss! Can I interest you in some time sharing opportunities?"

Karis tried to push forward, but the man stopped her. "Or how about some tropical wardrobe choices? That coat you have on there really doesn’t look like the proper attire for beautiful Costa Del Sol!" he laughed.

"Can you please, just move…? I’m not interested." She said to the man still looking down.

"You know, I sell maps to guide you right to the World Famous Gold Saucer."

"Sir, please, just move over." She said, softly.

"Hey! I bet you wanna know where to get this great T-shirt!" the man pulled out a bright orange T-shirt with a red logo that said "I visited Costa Del Sol!"

Karis cheeks burned, and she longed to get out of the entrance that was oh, so close. She swallowed and forced herself to look at the man. In her most serious voice, she said. "I’m really not interested."

The man read her face, and swallowed. "I’m… I’m sorry…" He stammered. Then he stepped aside, nearly dropping his T-shirt.

Karis walked through the gate. She was making good time. Slowly she trudged up past Costa Del Sol’s limits. And she saw the mountains ahead. She sighed, and reached down into her small satchel. She pulled out her sword, and strapped it to her waist. Slowly she pulled it from its sheath and checked its sharpness. She replaced the blade in its sheath and swallowed. The trek over the mountains would be an arduous one, but she would have to do it. There was no other way around it. Slowly she made her way up the path to the mountains above… She had a long way to go.

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